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The defense attorney representing Santa Ana City Councilman Carlos Bustamante says he and his client are none too pleased with how information about the sexual assault charges levied against the politician has been presented and released. Now the attorney, James Riddet, has filed a motion asking for the charges to be thrown out, according to City News Service.Bustamante stands accused of sexually assaulting seven women who worked for him in his former capacity at the Orange County Public Works department.
In a press conference following Bustamante's arrest, Orange County District Attorney Tony Rauckaukas offered explicit details about the alleged encounters that included details about Bustamante's "type" of victim, and the following summation of the assaults:
"[Bustamante] rubbed his face against theirs, grabbed their breasts, touched their bare thighs, moved his hands up towards their vaginas on the upper part of the leg, under skirts sometimes, grabbed their buttocks, exposed himself--exposed himself and even masturbated in front his victims on a number of occasions. When they attempted to escape from the office, he cornered them to prevent them from leaving. He pinned them against walls, hugged them tightly, close enough the victims describe that when he was hugging them--squeezing them--they could feel his erect penis through the clothes."
Riddet also believes Rauckaukas shamed his client and sensationalized the arrest since "the District Attorney went to the trouble of videotaping the arrest themselves and distributing it to the media, and it showed up on news channels." The attorney notes he's "sick of" how the OC prosecutors are handling this kind of information, and alleges they have violated the California Rules of Professional Conduct.
Ultimately, says Riddet, the OC DA's actions have made it difficult to see to it Bustamante gets a fair trial.
Bustamante is due to be arraigned July 26. At that time, the motion to dismiss will be considered.
